Movers and Shakers

MCBC Holdings, the parent company of MasterCraft and Hydra-Sports Boat Co., named Terry McNew president and CEO of MasterCraft and its affiliates.

McNew assumed these roles, along with a position on the companys board of directors, on Aug. 13. He replaces John Dorton, who is retiring.

McNew joins MasterCraft from Brunswick Corp., where he has served since 2009 as executive vice president, manufacturing and quality, for the Recreational Boat Group, with global leadership responsibility for engineering, manufacturing and quality for Brunswicks recreational boat brands. McNew also was president and CEO of Correct Craft from 2004-2006.

Terry brings a wealth of leadership experience in the marine industry to his new role at MasterCraft, Chris Keenan of Wayzata Investment Partners LLC, a member of MasterCrafts board of directors, said in a statement. With over 20 years in marine manufacturing, quality and product development and engineering, Terry will build on the significant operational improvements that MasterCraft has implemented over the last several years.

The Ferretti Group appointed Tan Xuguang as group chairman, replacing Norberto Ferretti, who became honorary chairman.

Ferruccio Rossi was appointed managing director of the Italian luxury yacht builder.

Xuguang is chairman and CEO of Weichai Power Co. Ltd., chairman of Weichai Group Holdings Ltd. and chairman of Shandong Heavy Industry Group Co. Ltd. He also serves as vice chairman of the China Enterprise Confederation and the China Internal Combustion Engine Industry Association.

Rossi, who has been working for the group as Riva managing director and Ferretti Group country manager since 2005, will replace Giancarlo Galeone, who stepped aside after CEO Salvatore Basiles sudden death.

Shandong Heavy Industry Group-Weichai Group announced in January that it reached agreements with the major creditors of the Ferretti Group to acquire a controlling interest in Ferretti by participating in Ferrettis debt restructuring.

Bertram Yacht appointed Robert Ullberg, a former project engineer at Tom Fexas Yacht Design who founded Ullberg Yacht Design, as vice president of engineering and product development.

Beginning his career with Fexas, Ullberg quickly became the project manager for many of the firms sportfishing designs. In 1996 he left Fexas to establish Ullberg Yacht Design, an engineering-based design firm that focused primarily on the design and development of custom sportfishing boats.

In his new role, he will lead the engineering and product development organization for Bertram at its new facility in Merritt Island, Fla. He will initially concentrate on the 2013 Bertrams that will be built at Merritt Island, followed by the development of a series of new Bertram sportfishing models.

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas hired Liz Walz as director of membership and marketing.

Liz and I have had a long working relationship together, and Im absolutely thrilled to add her passion and enthusiasm for the marine industry to the MRAA team, MRAA president Matt Gruhn said in a statement. There are very few people who are as passionate about the marine industry and the dealer body in particular than Liz has proven to be, and that, along with her well-known communication skills, makes her the ideal person for this position and this association in general.

Walz has spent most of her career at Boating Industry, which she joined in 1999. At the magazine, she led the editorial teams efforts and helped to create and produce the Top 100 Dealers Program and the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, in addition to being a central contributor to the print and online editorial efforts for the better part of the last 10 years. She left the publication at the end of April.

Walz has served on the MRAAs Young Leaders Advisory Council since its inception. As the only non-dealer to ever sit on that council, she played a significant role in its development, as well as that of a handful of committees.

Edson International said industry veteran Reed Austin was hired as national sales manager for its marine division. Austin will be responsible for overseeing sales activities of Edsons powerboat and electronics and accessories product lines, as well as managing Edsons wholesale and trade accounts.

Prior to joining Edson, Reed was vice president of sales and marketing at J&J Marine in Somerset, Mass. Before that, he was director of sales and marketing at Hunt Yachts. He started in the industry at Salt Water Sportsman magazine, where he was sales manager for 15 years.

We look forward to having Reed help us grow the power side of our business and know our customers will be in good hands with Reed as their contact, Edson president Will Keene said in a statement.

Regal Boats named Edwin Lim its regional sales manager for Asia.

During 31 years at Mercury Marine, Lim strategically developed and grew the operation from a small representative office into the Asia regional headquarters, with branch offices and distribution centers in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Besides English, Lim speaks Indonesian, Malaysian and Chinese. Regal said his knowledge of languages and business cultures in the Asian region will open new opportunities for the companys expansion into those emerging markets.

Lim will be based in Singapore, but Regal said he will spend much of his time assisting existing dealers and developing new relationships with dealers throughout Asia.

Sly will manage exhibit sales and maintain exhibitor relationships for all three of the trade groups shows  the Detroit Boat Show at Cobo Center; Spring Boating Expo at Suburban Collection Showplace; and the Boating & Outdoor Festival at Lake St. Clair Metropark.

Sly, of Grand Blanc, Mich., has more than 13 years of sales and marketing experience in the automotive and publishing industries.

Elkhart, Ind.-based ASA Electronics named John Pennington the Western-Central regional sales manager for its marine division.

Pennington will create and maintain relationships with distributors, spa- and boatbuilders and retailers to increase the brand recognition of ASAs marine audio and video lines.

He has 20 years of experience in sales and management with audio and video electronics. He most recently was Western zone manager at Marine Audio Engineering and Sales in Chesterfield, Mo. His main responsibilities included establishing and maintaining relationships with OEM, retail and aftermarket dealer accounts and supervising sales efforts.